Facts About Coal and Minerals Contents
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FACTS ABOUT COAL AND MINERALS CONTENTS Facts About Coal and Minerals I. Overview ........................................3 2. Mining and the Economy ..........................4 3. Resources .......................................6 What are coal and minerals? ....................6 What are reserves and resources? ...............7 Selected tables and trivia .......................8 4. Production and Preparation .......................11 The process of mining ..........................11 Major mined products from your state ..........13 Mining methods ..............................15 Preparation ...................................16 5. Coal and Mineral Use ............................17 6. Mining’s Workforce .............................21 7. Mining and the Environment ......................23 8. Transportation ..................................27 9. Exports and Trade ...............................30 10. Glossary ........................................33 © 2020, National Mining Association For more information, visit www.nma.org. 1 Haul trucks used in surface mining can hold more than 400 tons of ore. 2 OVERVIEW | How has mining touched your life today? Think of your everyday life…. Do you drive or bike to work or school? The iron ore, bauxite, copper, platinum and other minerals used in the manufacture of cars and bicycles are products of mining. Do you use a computer? Did you know it takes as many as 66 minerals to make the screen, case, chips, circuitry and battery? And it is likely that nearly half the electricity you used today was generated by coal and uranium, both products of mining. We are surrounded by these raw materials — minerals and coal — that make nearly everything possible in our daily lives. But we often take them for granted because Did they are everywhere in our lives, even when we don’t see you them. They keep our lights on, provide essential building blocks for manufacturing and provide materials vital to know? advanced technologies we all depend on. THE AVERAGE PERSON IN THE U.S. For the U.S., mining has a direct economic impact of USES ABOUT 40,000 POUNDS OF about $700 billion annually, or about three percent of the NEWLY MINED MINERALS – INCLUDING U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), which is a measure of the market value of goods, services and structures THREE TONS OF COAL – EACH YEAR. produced in a country during a given time period. Mining activity takes place in all 50 states; in fact the U.S. has significant deposits of 78 minerals and major commodities - the most of any nation. Today’s mining industry that produces these building blocks of American prosperity utilizes sophisticated equipment and a highly skilled and trained workforce to not only mine, but also to restore land after resource extraction has occurred. All aspects of our economy including electricity, communications, transportation systems, computer networks, national security, space and medical technology require minerals and coal. Fortunately, the U.S. is home to extensive domestic reserves of many important mineral resources and the world’s largest supply of recoverable coal. Although the U.S. has an abundance of high quality, diverse mineral resources, due to the lengthy federal permitting process, it can take seven to 10 years for a mine to receive approval to operate. 3 MINING and the ECONOMY The products of mining take center stage in helping fulfill our advanced society’s most basic needs. An abundant food supply, clothing, shelter, electricity, transportation and communication would not be possible without mining. The typical house contains concrete and masonry block in the foundation, gypsum wallboard and copper pipes and wiring — to name just a few mined products. Coal provides a third of the electricity we rely on — and it takes at least 29 different minerals needed to get that electricity to our homes and businesses. Nuclear energy, which is generated from uranium, provides 19 percent of our electricity. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), $109 billion of coal and minerals were mined in 2018, with $82 billion of non-fuel minerals processed into $766 billion worth of products. USGS and the U.S. Department of Commerce esti- mate that industries, such as construction and durable goods manufacturing, that use processed mineral ma- terial added $3.0 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2018 — or about 15 percent of GDP. A wind turbine may contain 335 tons of steel, 4.7 tons of copper, 13 tons of fiberglass, 3 tons of alumi- Aside from their dollar impact, these minerals have num and 1,200 tons of reinforced concrete. other tangible benefits. The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that one of the primary advantages the U.S. has over its strongest industrial competitors is its domestic resource base. For example, with affordable and abundant domestic coal, U.S. electricity costs are highly competitive, an asset in the global marketplace. Mining companies also pay taxes to the communities in which they operate. Companies pay more than $40 billion in federal, state and local taxes on company profits and employee wages, property taxes on equipment and structures, and excise taxes According to the National Park Service, the Statue of Liberty contains 31 tons of copper on output. 3/32 inches thick. 4 MINING and the ECONOMY Direct & Indirect Contribution Labor Income Employment to GDP Number (Millions) (Millions) Alabama 33,300 $1,903 $4,287 Alaska 10,122 604 1,908 Arizona 62,189 3,827 15,405 Arkansas 13,024 622 1,029 California 89,630 6,742 14,043 Colorado 42,202 2,656 7,129 Connecticut 8,108 573 1,048 Delaware 1,884 123 250 D.C. 2,265 250 444 Florida 59,884 3,306 5,343 Georgia 38,094 2,204 4,537 Hawaii 3,431 180 352 Idaho 16,494 774 2,049 Illinois 54,764 3,716 8,380 Indiana 36,021 2,136 5,227 Iowa 12,398 644 1,462 Kansas 9,911 448 1,846 Kentucky 48,221 2,783 5,099 Louisiana 23,034 1,377 2,744 Maine 4,815 201 326 Maryland 26,710 1,793 2,105 Massachusetts 14,160 1,092 2,220 Michigan 36,491 2,072 5,405 Minnesota 53,271 3,322 7,524 Mississippi 10,078 509 882 Missouri 30,942 1,847 2,801 Montana 18,977 1,065 2,491 Nebraska 7,382 393 771 Nevada 55,056 3,831 13,226 New Hampshire 5,469 313 535 New Jersey 20,232 1,869 2,340 New Mexico 18,559 1,076 2,415 New York 45,640 3,289 7,087 North Carolina 27,663 1,451 3,545 North Dakota 7,963 556 1,306 Ohio 51,388 3,023 6,524 Oklahoma 17,053 879 2,292 Oregon 16,615 912 2,332 Pennsylvania 108,256 6,615 10,913 Rhode Island 2,408 152 274 South Carolina 22,100 1,150 1,773 South Dakota 5,472 283 556 Tennessee 24,316 1,390 2,380 Texas 100,662 6,103 18,078 Utah 43,517 2,412 4,899 Vermont 3,758 165 335 Virginia 48,803 3,426 6,429 Washington 19,305 1,243 4,355 West Virginia 55,418 3,657 7,347 Wisconsin 21,992 1,121 3,822 Wyoming 41,879 2,981 7,624 Total Operations 1,531,327 95,057 $217,493 Sources: NMA analysis based on Mine Safety & Health Administration (2017) data and IMPLAN modeling system 5 RESOURCES | What are coal and minerals? Coal, copper, gold, gravel and iron ore are all mined, but are they all minerals? Not all of them. Scientifically, a mineral is Is coal being formed today? a naturally formed inorganic solid (element or It’s likely that the process that formed coal and chemical compound) with a limited range of other fossil fuels is still occurring in swampy chemical composition and an orderly internal areas where plant material accumulates. atomic structure. Coal and aggregates such as sand and gravel contain varying amounts of mineral matter, but are technically rocks. Coal is a carbonaceous sedimentary rock. It is formed from organic matter and contains carbon and other elements, such as hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Most coal was formed 280 to 345 million years ago as trees, ferns and other plants decomposed and were buried under prehistoric seas and swamps. Pressure and temperature compressed and altered the plant remains, con- centrating carbon content, and over millions of Minerals, also called nonfuel or hardrock min- years, transformed the material into coal. erals, are classified as metallic and nonmetallic: Coal is divided into four major types based on the Metalllic minerals are further classified as amount of transformation undergone from the ferrous and nonferrous. The category of earlier plant and peat stages, heating value and ferrous minerals includes iron and iron alloys other characteristics: such as steel. Nonfer- Lignite is a coal with generally high moisture and rous minerals include, ash content and low carbon content. Significant among many others, reserves are located in Texas, North Dakota and copper, silver, platinum, Montana. gold, uranium and zinc. Subbituminous coal has a higher heating value Nonmetallic minerals in- than lignite. Wyoming produces the bulk of sub- clude “structural ma- bituminous coal in the Powder River Basin area. terials” — stone, sand, gravel and synthetic ma- Gold Ore Bituminous coal is a soft, intermediate grade that terials like cement. They usually are composed of is most common in the United States. It is mined some of the 25 most abundant minerals and are chiefly in Appalachia and the Midwest. used for the nation’s infrastructure. Anthracite is the hardest type of coal, consisting Nonmetallic minerals also include “industrial of nearly pure carbon. Mined in Pennsylvania, it minerals,” which are used as paper coatings, has the highest heating value and lowest mois- paints, varnishes, enamels, fertilizers, abrasives, ture and ash content. and so forth.